Asian markets plummeted today following yesterday’s heavy sell-off in the United States as investors worldwide grew skittish over rising oil prices and the prospect of a substantial economic slowdown in the United States.

The Education Department's inspector general says he will review whether federal money is inappropriately being spent on programs by a company founded by Neil Bush, the president's brother.

Federal prosecutors will ask a grand jury today to indict Bernard B. Kerik, the former New York police commissioner, on charges that include tax fraud, corruption and conspiracy counts, according to people who have been briefed on the case.